Magical Meadows Seeks Donations For Activity Center
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Jordan Fouts-
Magical Meadows has been dormant over the winter, but director Tammy Stackhouse sees big things in store for spring. The therapeutic horse riding facility northeast of Warsaw broke ground in October on an indoor riding and activity center, and classes are set to begin in early April for more than 100 special needs kids. Meadows is in the final push to raise funds for the $300,000 center, which will be the permanent home for horses and classes when completed in June. Their goal is $50,000, Stackhouse said, after more than $250,000 came in since the campaign started in 2011. That includes a $60,000 match of money raised from the Dane and Mary Louise Miller Foundation and $150,000 from an anonymous donor. That allowed them to purchase the land and start building. The center is a skeleton of wood now, with workers starting to lay the roof Monday, but Stackhouse can already see the red painted walls and wraparound porch with white chairs. “It’s been sadly quiet over the winter (but) we’ll be able to do classes all year-round, without worrying about having to cancel because of bad weather,” she said Monday in the one-room prefab building that now serves as the office, bought with an initial $3,000 donation six years ago. “This is a community project and we’ve had some wonderful donors. Every dollar has made a difference here at Magical Meadows.” She emphasized her gratitude to donors, and said she hopes the new center can be an illustration of what donations have gone toward. “I want them to see where we’re headed,” she said. “I hope the building can be a visual, where people drive by and can be proud to be a part of it – to hear kids’ laughter as they drive by and know they did their part.” The center will house a 75-by-120-foot indoor riding arena and a 40-by-60-foot activity center, library, computer center and kitchen. And little things like a handicap-accessible bathroom make a big difference to the kids, Stackhouse noted. Art and exercise classes will be offered for kids who haven’t decided they want to actually ride a horse yet, she added – and for those who love it, there will be an outdoor riding trail with educational stops. She expects to see 125 to 150 riders this year, up from the 80 riders last year. And she hopes the new center allows for partnerships with area schools and the Bowen Center. They’ve also found two part-time volunteer instructors, and would welcome other volunteers. They don’t necessarily have to work with horses either. A volunteer training session will be held March 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Get details and paperwork at themagicalmeadows.org Besides donations for the center, she noted people can sponsor an individual rider for $120 for a six-week course. And center sponsors of $100 or more will be recognized on a wall of thanks. Donations can be sent to The Magical Meadows, 3386 E. CR 525N, Warsaw IN 46582. Stackhouse can be reached at 574-265-3085. “Our donations are the cornerstone of Magical Meadows,” Stackhouse said. “I think it’s important that people actually see what we do here. It’s not a pony ride; there’s true benefit in what we do here. I think if someone came here, spent half an hour with me, the kids and the volunteers, they’d be even more pleased they contributed to Magical Meadows.”
